Noel Yang
Founder & Creative Director, Wonder Mill Media
Problem
Noel grew up in a culture where creativity was largely ignored. She had been an outstanding student in school but was not encouraged to pursue her favorite subject, which was art. She later decided to pursue her true interest and study film at the University of Southern California. Noel realized that everyone has a unique way of expressing themselves, but no one teaches them how to do so. She decided to teach people the artistic skills needed to express their own ideas. Noel found her life to be much more meaningful when she helps people discover their own creativity. Innovation Noel Yang founded Wonder Mill Media in 2010, a pioneer company with the goal of developing people’s creativity. Noel collaborates with many corporations and organizations throughout Taiwan to hold creativity workshops. She uses a non-traditional, improvisational approach to teach people artistic skills such as painting, acting, writing and crafting. For example, in her drama class, Noel chooses the theme but asks her students to write the storylines, make the costumes, and decide how to act it out on their own. Noel takes the following steps to guide her students:
Impact Wonder Mill has held approximately 80 workshops and helped over 1,000 students discover their creativity, including children, teenagers, women, businessmen, indigenous groups, prisoners and drug addicts. Noel believes humans are inherently creative. She states, “I believed creativity cannot be taught but can be developed. Instead of teaching my students creativity, I guide them to go through a journey of discovering their own creativity through artistic activities while letting them have fun.” Students at Noel’s workshops become more bold, self-confident, and liberated from the traditional educational system which emphasizes conformity over diversity. Noel explains that, “many parents in Taiwan do not encourage their children to learn art. They want kids to study something more pragmatic such as law, medicine, and engineering. As a result, many students don’t realize how creative they are. My job is to unleash people’s artistic talent.” Noel’s students find her workshops so effective that nearly 50% of them claim they would return to future workshops to further develop their creativity. Noel has re-shaped people’s thinking about creativity and how it can be learned and developed. She has nurtured a new generation of artists who can find creative solutions to their problems through arts, drama and writing. Skills Noel exhibits many skills of an innovator, among them collaboration, questioning, observing and experimenting. At USC, Noel learned that film is a product of collaboration among key members of a team. Noel therefore invites students to work together to complete certain artistic tasks, such as creating an oil painting. She also seeks others to join her team who are eager to collaborate in helping students to explore new skills such as storytelling, performing and drawing. Noel asked questions about the Taiwan educational system. She said, “the Taiwan students in general are trained to look for the right answer in the textbook. But in real life there may not be a right or wrong answer. Each one of us has to discover what works best for me.” Noel deliberately plans her workshop to ensure her students are given the tools to discover the best way to complete an artistic assignment. Noel constantly observes what works in her workshops. She said, “I tried one popular theatre game, the mirror game, in which one person makes the movement and the other person follows. I found this technique works extremely well to promote collaboration between two people. Therefore I use it over and over again.” Noel tests new ideas all the time. She believes experimenting is the key to continuous improvement. She explained, “I alternate activities from painting, acting, dancing to writing. Some work well and some do not, depending on who my students are. Failure is the necessary process to success.” Once, Noel decided to take a risk and try something new to liberate a group of students who were working professionals. She said, “l asked them to paint with their feet. It was a sensational experience when the students dipped their feet into the cold paint and swiped different colors on the paper. They had great fun. It was a huge success!” |
Bio
Noel Yang is a movie director, writer, speaker and pastor. She is also the founder of Wonder Mill Media, a Taiwan-based company focusing on creativity. Noel earned a B.A. in English Literature from National Taiwan University and a Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) in Cinema-TV Production from University of Southern California. While in Los Angeles, Noel created dramatic shorts, TV commercials and children’s television shows. Since returning to Taiwan in 2009, she has led over 80 workshops to develop creativity in people through art, drama and play, helping them find creative solutions to personal problems. |